


no place left to hide

by Skyepilot



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Action & Romance, Anxiety, Complicated Relationships, Coulson can't lose Daisy, Coulson taking a vacation, Coulson thinking he's Travis McGee, Coulson's Daddy Issues, Daisy Yo Yo and Joey are the Three Muskateers, F/M, First Kiss, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, Humor, Joey is like Daisy, Older Man/Younger Woman, Saving the world for very little pay, Teasing, Working Out My Feelings Through Fic, sad childhoods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 12:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6703759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/pseuds/Skyepilot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Hive is destroyed, Coulson is forced to deal with his personal issues around family.  And Daisy. :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	no place left to hide

**Author's Note:**

  * For [becketted (zauberer_sirin)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zauberer_sirin/gifts).



_Hands._

_He thinks about all of the things his hands have held.  Or wanted to hold._

_And she, by far, is the greatest._

_There is only the one now. He wishes he had held her more with both._

_That he would have the courage to try, instead of telling himself all along that he couldn’t let himself get in the way._

_The way that he would’ve held onto his father, if he’d had the choice._

_He can’t bury her in his burdens._

_Fathers are something that are stolen away, not given.  Not found, after you’re too grown up to need them anymore._

_He still wishes that he could see his father’s face, one last time._

_And say all the things a nine-year-old doesn’t know how to._

 

#

“We’re ready to make the jump,” she tells him, with her team around her, making their last-minute preparations.

She stops for a moment to look away and check Yo-Yo again, just to make sure.

So careful, and doting, he thinks, quietly watching from the hangar deck.  Some things never change.

“Daisy,” Yo Yo says, slapping at her hand. “It’s good.  Mack showed me ten times.”

“Then eleven isn’t going to hurt,” she teases, as the other woman rolls her eyes while she pulls the strap tighter.  “It’s fine.” She pats her chest. “It’s _perfect_.”

“I’ll tell him you said so,” she grins, and almost turns away before she catches Coulson’s eyes, then leans back towards Daisy. “Amo de casa, right?"

Daisy spins her around and gives her a quick shove, as Yo Yo laughs.  The hanger door lowers and the wind picks up as she turns back to him.

“I’ll check in when we touch down,” she assures him, raising her voice, as her hair blows around her.

It happens every time he watches her go out into the field.  Every. Single. Time.

He wants to tell her.

“Just come home safe,” he says, instead.

“That’s the plan, sir,” she yells.

She waits for a moment, then gives him a small smile as she turns away, and then jumps headlong after her team.

 

#

_It’s only been a month since the Hive incident, and the whole thing still haunts him._

_It’s put a great deal of distance between him and Daisy._

_They’re more professional than they’ve ever been, but after losing so much, almost losing each other again, it seemed like the right time to step back and re-evaluate._

_Only this time, it felt different.  That he had crossed some line with her, and he’s not sure what he did wrong._

_She finally told him to stop trying to protect her.  Reminded him that he was the one who needed protecting by doing just that._

_She saved them all, but he’s not sure who or what he’s supposed to be now._

_Except the Director of SHIELD._

 

#

She’s injured. 

He can tell by the rush of Simmons and the med team passing him in the hall, as he picks up speed to follow after them.

Why is he the last to know?  He’s the damn Director.

“Their coms went down,” May says, frustrated, coming alongside him.

They both march together towards the base’s hangar, and see Mack, hunching down over Yo Yo on a gurney, as she dismisses his fussing in rapid Spanish.

He picks out Daisy, talking to Joey, touching him like she’s trying to reassure him. And he breathes a sigh of relief.

“I’ll check on Yo Yo,” May tells him, studying him for only a moment before moving into action.  Leaving him standing alone.

Joey is beating himself up over something, and Daisy is trying to reassure him.

The fear that was building in him finally dissipates, and he feels like he has enough control again to go check in with Mack when they wheel Yo Yo past towards the med bay.

“What happened?” he asks him.

“I think they tried something…a little too ambitious,” Mack says, with a chuckle, settling his hands on his hips.  “She said they were the ‘Three Amigos’ and told me not to ‘dog their style’.  She’s pretty medicated.”

“Mosqueteros,” Daisy says, walking up to them with Joey.  “The Three Musketeers.”

“It’s my fault,” Joey raises his hand, like he’s about to be punished by the school principal. “It was my idea, and she got hurt.”

“It _worked_ ,” Daisy answers, with a smile, touching his arm again with her elbow. “Even though, the Quinjet is a bit worse for the wear.”

Joey winces and meets Coulson’s eyes.

“Congratulations, Agent Gutierrez.  You wouldn’t be the first.”

Daisy gives him a quizzical look and then takes Joey by the arm with her to look after Yo Yo.

 

#

_“It may be how you feel, but she doesn’t. You have to let her go.”_

_He’s been trying to let go.  His whole life._

_Only finding that he holds on more tightly, tries to reign himself in._

_“You’re not your father, Phil. She’s not you.”_

_That’s not it at all, May, he thinks._

_Daisy isn’t his father.  She’s not going to die. It’s not going to happen to him all over again._

_He finally opened up, and it’s exactly what he was afraid of._

_“I think I need to take some time,” he says slowly, when it finally clicks._

_“Agreed,” she nods.  “Daisy and I can hold down the fort.”_

_He wants to tell her, but he doesn’t._

_He packs a bag and takes Lola that evening._

 

#

The air is balmy, is probably the word and he’s wearing a suit and standing out on the balcony.

Even the suffocating air out here is better than the atmosphere in the room.

Perfect timing to remind him why he always tried to stay in the field and out of the office.

Politics. 

He takes a drink from the shallow champagne glass, noting how old-fashioned the design is, and sets it down on the railing.

This is almost like a moment out of one of his Travis McGee books.  The crickets are chirping, the moon peeks from behind its veil of clouds.

He just needs some beautiful trouble to come looking for him.

It does.

His eyes see the pair of arms sliding forward on the railing beside him, and looks up to meet another set staring back.

“What are you doing here?” he asks in disbelief.  It probably borders on chiding. “You know how dangerous this is?”

“Oh, good,” she says, turning around to lean her elbows against it, staring back into the house. “For a moment there, I thought we were in trouble."

He blinks a few times. It’s from a movie, but he can’t recall at the moment. “That’s a closing line, not an opening one.”

“I mean, in danger of having a perfectly normal conversation,” she adds with a tilt of her head, and her voice.

Her black evening gown goes all the way to the floor, and he’s never seen Daisy so made up.  Stunning him into silence a bit.

She can handle herself. He’s not going to worry about it.  He needs to drop it and try to hold on to this instead.

“Nice night,” he says, looking up at the cloudy sky.

“It’s humid, and I think my hair is starting to fall,” she says, brushing her fingers against it.

“That’s quite the get up,” he replies, studying the dress a little, and noticing the bracelet on her wrist. “May I?”

She lifts her hand to him, a little amused, as he thumbs over the row of gemstones.

“Is it real?”

“You sign my paycheck, you tell me.”

He smiles at that. “ _Definitely_ not real.”

“Wanna go back inside?” she asks, taking back her hand. “Watch me work the room with my charm powers?”

“Sure,” he says, putting his hands in his pockets. “I’d like that.

 

#

_She asked him once, to just be her friend and not SHIELD guy._

_Maybe that’s the moment he decided._

_It terrified him, the idea that they might just be friends and not something more.  He’s had a lot of friends, but never family._

_Half his age, and he really still probably has no excuse, but then, he’s never met anyone like Daisy._

_The way they keep being pulled apart and falling back together._

_What if it all means something?_

_Losing his father at nine shaped his whole life. Daisy told him something similar not too long ago.  About how you never move past it._

_But she did.  She moved past it, and he could see that after Hive, things had begun to settle. After loss and letting go, that she’s stronger than ever._

_He’s always admired how brave she is._

_It’s time for him to let go._

_And follow her again._

 

#

“You said you wanted back in the field,” she says, as he tosses her the briefcase, then jumps down after her out of the window.

“This wasn’t really what I had in mind,” he answers, holding out his hand as he turns to look down the alley.

They both know they’re about two seconds away from getting caught.  These guys, they have powers.

And, boy, are they mad.

“Want me to hold the Kree stuff?” she asks him, as he grabs it and her other hand, and they run in the opposite direction.

“I like holding stuff for you,” he jokes, and he can feel the sound distortion again, coming up behind them.

As they turn the corner, he uses his prosthetic to put up a shield against it and adjusts the frequency.

The sonic guy can get through Daisy’s field. Kind of her weakness.  Lucky for her, he’s here.

Daisy is already radioing for the extraction and he hears the rush of the Quinjet above them.

Perfect timing.

She gives the cable a tug and then wraps an arm around his waist as they stare up at the jet and look down at the angry guy whose sonic powers have some decent range.

“Pull up!” Daisy yells into her coms.

But not at 100 feet.

He thinks it’s funny and laughs a little at the guy, hoping he can see his smug expression from 100 feet.

Probably not.

As they finally make it on deck, he hands the case over to the crew and watches as they secure it, then turns back to look at Daisy starting to loosen up out of her field suit.

“We made it,” she says, a little breathless, walking up to him.  “A daring escape.”

God, she’s beautiful.

“I was thinking about this little restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen,” he replies, loosening his tie, trying to seem smooth.  “It has tiramisu to die for.”

“What?” she asks, confused. “Is that your way of asking me out?”

“It’s not really out of the way,” he goes on. “The crew can have the night off.” He lowers his voice at the end when he sees the nearby agent eavesdropping.

“You liked getting to play hero,” she laughs, and puts her hands on her hips.

“Every once in a while doesn’t hurt,” he teases, frowning at her.  “But you did, literally just sweep me off my feet.”

“Only, just now?” she asks, stepping closer to him, tugging playfully on the end of his tie.

He swallows and glances towards the cockpit and sees the other agent settling into the co-pilot seat.

Finally, some privacy.

“From the moment we met,” he says, closing the distance between them, and gathering her in his arms.

He kisses her, through her surprise, surprised by himself, really.

She never pulls away, instead she leans into him and wraps her hands around his shoulders like she never wants to let go.  

She’s kind of aggressive about it. Not that he’s complaining, but he bumps his head against the bulkhead.

“Ow.”

“Is everything okay back there, sir?” the agent says from the cockpit.

“Fine,” they say at the same time, staring back at each other and practically laughing with their eyes.

He settles his arms around her waist, and tugs her a little more against him.

“So. What do you say?”

“Definitely. _Yes_.” She's biting on her lower lip, and looking like she can’t wait to kiss him again.

He decides it’s not fair to make her.

**Author's Note:**

> Amo de casa = house husband
> 
> Daisy's movie line is from ending of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance kid when they're surrounded.


End file.
